Ali-Frazier.
Federer-Nadal.
Joey Chestnut-Takeru Kobayashi.
That’s what a big deal the “Unfinished Beef” showdown was on Netflix as the two legendary competitors faced off Monday for the first time in 15 years. Fans weren’t disappointed as world records were set and personal bests shattered as Chestnut beat Kobayashi, 83-67.
Naturally, bettors were interested in getting in on the action. FanDuel Ontario posted lines, so there were legal, regulated books that had markets for this showdown, although there were no legal odds posted in the United States.
Chestnut was an enormous -1150 favorite to take home the crown while Kobayashi was +650. Chestnut won by 16, easily beating his set winning margin of 13.5. The pair also combined to eat 150 dogs, demolishing the set line of 119.5.
Meanwhile, Chestnut easily beat his set line of 66.5 and his previous world record of 76. He set a new high of 83. The under was favored as it came with a -136 vig while the over was +106.
Despite losing what he vowed was his swan song in competitive eating, Kobayashi should keep his head up high, even though he was blown out of the water. He set a new personal record by downing 67 dogs, beating his previous high of 64 set in 2009. He cruised past his set total of 53.5, which oddsmakers thought was unlikely — offering it at -106, while the under was -122.
So, why did the lines come in so low?
Perhaps it was an overreaction to a major rule change for this epic showdown. Kobayashi revolutionized the Hot Dog eating world by developing the “Solomon Method” in which he’d separate the hot dog from the bun, eat the dog and then “drink” the bun to wash it down. However, neither competitor was allowed to perform it, meaning they’d partake in the contest in a completely different way.
What oddsmakers did nail, though, was Chestnut dominating Kobayashi to take home the trophy and the $100,00 grand prize.
The match wasn’t particularly close. Chestnut downed seven dogs in the first 30 seconds with Kobayashi just one off the pace. However, he out-ate Kobayashi by a dog every 30 seconds and truly pulled away at the seven-minute mark, leading by five. At that point, it was simply a matter of how high each competitor would go and how much Chestnut would win by.
